(Second Update)
An eagle's cry rang out as a robust black eagle Soul Beast soared beneath the blue sky.
Its sharp eagle eyes looked down from high above and spotted a group passing through Sunset Forest, heading toward the outskirts of Heaven Dou City.
To this Soul Beast, whose strength rivaled that of a level-fifty Spirit King, the group was clearly made up of soft targets ripe for the picking: a decrepit old man with a full head of green hair, a sallow middle-aged man with a dejected expression, and five immature boys and girls. They were simply perfect prey.
All manner of slaughter played out every day within Sunset Forest, this habitat of Soul Beasts.
Either humans hunted Soul Beasts, or Soul Beasts hunted humans. Even Soul Beasts fought one another, whether because of their positions in the food chain or to seize territory.
Soul Beasts did not cultivate easily, especially those beyond the Thousand-Year Level. Every additional hundred years of cultivation required immense effort to consume the essences of the sun and moon, absorb the boundless Soul Power between heaven and earth, and seek out fortuitous encounters akin to Immortal Herbs.
Yet if they chose to devour human Spirit Masters, Soul Beasts could also gain immense benefits. After all, human Spirit Masters meditated daily to absorb Soul Power. Both the quantity and quality of the Soul Power within their bodies far surpassed that in the air. Devouring a human Spirit Master could greatly shorten their cultivation time.
However, human Spirit Masters had always regarded Soul Beasts as prey. The Spirit Masters capable of entering Sunset Forest to hunt were never weak, so hunting human Spirit Masters in turn required a Soul Beast to be both bold and meticulous.
As it happened, this black eagle Soul Beast believed itself